Cornus glabrata, which ranges from southern Oregon through most of transmontane California, grows in two habits. Along streams and in moist areas, the branches are trailing, often vinelike, and rooting at the nodes. H. McMinn (1939) reported this growth habit for cultivated plants. A second form is found in drier roadsides and fields, where the stems are erect or grow horizontally, rooting at the nodes and forming dense thickets. This growth pattern is accompanied by smaller, thicker leaves and erect branches. There is no doubt this is a single species, because the authors have observed a single clone on a stream bank, with half the clone growing erect, with small leaves, and half trailing into the stream bed, with large leaves.